Last year, NPH picked up double Emmys, including one for hosting the Tonys. Look for him to repeat that win next year. |
Of course, tomorrow is Fathers Day (is there an apostrophe needed there? If so, where does it go? Is it ONE father's day, ie: your own, or is it ALL fathers' day? Grammar and punctuation used to be so easy...). In honor of that hallowed day when we honor our paters, I'd love to post a clip of my own father singing a little dittie. There are a couple of problems with that, but the biggest one is, I don't have such a clip. Sorry, Dad.
But we do have another father to celebrate, and by coincidence, it is also his 40th birthday today. And as if that weren't enough, our Dad Of The Week is celebrating yet another stellar hosting job on the annual Tony Awards.
In a tribute to last year's Best Musical, Once, Harris began his opening number small and acoustic. But that didn't last long. NPH makes regular appearances in these pages, including this rundown of his various award appearances, this discussion of the 2011 Tonys,, this clip of his appearance in Company, and this one of his appearance in Sweeney Todd. Oh, and for good measure, Harris appeared in this clip from the ill-fated Broadway production of Assassins. Do you think this is overkill? |
As most people know, NPH is in a long time relationship with David Burtka; the two announced their engagement quite a while ago, but have yet to legally tie the knot.
Perhaps their parenthood got in the way, as they are now raising a set of twins which they conceived via a surrogate. So this weekend, let's celebrate our hero's birthday, his fatherhood, and his Tony triumph all at once.
How much fun must it be to have Neil Patrick Harris as a dad? |
Naturally, we turn to the Tony Awards themselves for this special Dance Party. For the first time in my memory, I watched the ceremony with others. My best bud Judy was visiting my New York Branch, and we had a small chip-and-dip and chocolate-chip get-together, attended by our old college friend, Greg.
The awards were great fun this year, as we had seen some of the contenders.
Pippin is one of Judy's favorite musicals. I wrote about seeing it here; we were thrilled when it won the Tony. |
And our hero provided several numbers from which to choose this special Dance Party. But there can really be only one choice: Harris's opening number, which, in addition to celebrating all of Broadway also paid tribute to the Tonys returning to the vast Radio City Music Hall, will win NPH his next Emmy Award. It is the first time I can recall that an opening number received a standing ovation. Happy Birthday, Happy Fathers Day, and Congratulations on your Tony performance, NPH!